Russia says US is adding fuel to the fire by supplying rockets to Ukraine
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends an event during Russia’s Victory Day commemoration in Moscow on May 9, 2022.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US was adding fuel to the fire by supplying Ukraine with long-range rocket systems.
“We believe the US is deliberately pouring oil on the fire. America is clearly adamant that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian,” Peskov told reporters according to Reuters.
His remarks echo those made by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who claimed that President Joe Biden’s administration had increased the risk of a direct conflict between Moscow and Washington by supplying rockets to Ukraine.
— Sam Meredith
Germany to send IRIS-T air defense system to Ukraine — Scholzów
Scholz says that Germany will supply the IRIS-T air defense system to Ukraine.
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Germany will supply the IRIS-T air defense system to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, after requests from Kyiv and German opposition parties to increase deliveries of heavy weapons.
Scholz stated that Germany had been “delivering steadily since the beginning of the war”, pointing to more than 15 million ammunition, 100,000 grenades and more than 5,000 anti-tank mines sent to Ukraine as Russia. The country was invaded on 24 February.
“Recently, the government has decided that we will provide the most modern air defense system that Germany has in the form of IRIS-T,” Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag.
A security source told Reuters last month that Germany was considering supplying Ukraine with the IRIS-T SLM medium-range surface-to-air defense system.
— Reuters
The regional governor of Ukraine says that Russia is now 70% Svyarodonetsk. controls
The eastern city of Svierodonetsk has been hit by intense artillery and missile attacks by the Russian military.
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According to Seri Haidai, the regional governor of Luhansk, the Russian army has captured about 70% of Svyarodonetsk.
His remarks come as Russian forces continue their offensive in the Donbass region. Donbass refers to two eastern Ukrainian regions Luhansk and Donetsk – a major strategic, political and economic target for the Kremlin.
Haidai said via Telegram that the eastern city of Lisichansk remains “completely” under Ukrainian control.
However, all freed settlements in the Luhansk region are on fire and evacuation efforts have been suspended, Haidai said.
— Sam Meredith
Wheat cannot be a ‘weapon of war’, says Pope in urging to lift Ukraine bloc
Pope Francis leads his weekly general audience at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on June 1, 2022.
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Pope Francis on Wednesday urged officials to lift restrictions on wheat exports from Ukraine, saying the grain cannot be used as a “weapon of war”.
Speaking to thousands of his general audience in St Peter’s Square, he said the block should be removed as many millions depend on wheat from Ukraine, especially in the world’s poorest countries.
— Reuters
Russia says Biden’s arms supply to Ukraine increases risk of direct confrontation with US
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says the threat of a direct conflict between Moscow and Washington has increased following the US decision to supply more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine.
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Russia has warned that US President Joe Biden’s decision to supply advanced rocket systems to Ukraine risks a direct conflict between Moscow and Washington.
When asked whether the White House’s decision to supply Ukraine with long-range rocket systems would increase the likelihood of an open conflict between Russia and the US, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov Told: “Any weapons distribution that continues, increases, increases the risk of such development.”
Speaking to the RIA Novosti news agency, Ryabkov said of US foreign policy that “the remnants of a responsible, sound approach to the situation have simply been erased.”
— Sam Meredith
Oil group OPEC+ reportedly considering suspending Russia from supply deal
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak (right) with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, during the Russian Energy Week 2019 International Forum in Moscow. OPEC representatives are reportedly concerned about increasing economic pressure on Russia and its ability to pump more crude to cushion rising prices.
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Some members of the energy alliance OPEC+ are considering whether to suspend Russia from the oil production deal, The Wall Street Journal has reportedCiting unnamed OPEC representatives.
It comes at a time when non-OPEC leader Russia, a major player in global energy markets, is facing Western sanctions and Partial oil embargo from the European Union In the wake of the attack in Ukraine.
OPEC representative Allegedly There are concerns about increasing economic pressure on Russia and its ability to pump more crude to cushion rising prices.
CNBC has reached out to Russia’s Ministry of Energy and an OPEC spokesman for comment.
OPEC and non-OPEC countries are due to discuss the next phase of production policy on Thursday.
— Sam Meredith
Zelensky says Russian bombing of chemical plant in Svyarodonetsk is ‘madness’
Sievierodonetsk is one of three cities that have one of the largest chemical complexes in Ukraine. The area is now the front line as Russian troops draw closer to the city.
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the situation in the eastern region of the Donbass is “very difficult”, adding that Russian airstrikes in Svyrodonetsk are “crazy” given the presence of a large chemical plant in the city.
His remarks came after a Russian airstrike on a nitric acid tank in the city. Residents of Svirodonetsk have been warned not to leave bomb shelters because of the risk posed by toxic fumes.
In an evening address to the nation, Zelensky said the cities of Svyrodonetsk, Lisichansk and Kurakhov are now at the center of the confrontation.
“Given the presence of large-scale chemical production in Svyarodonetsk, Russian military attacks, including blind aerial bombings, are insane,” he said.
“But on the 97th day of such a war, it is no longer surprising that for the Russian army, for Russian commanders, for Russian soldiers, any madness is absolutely acceptable.”
— Sam Meredith
UNICEF says 5.2 million children need humanitarian aid
Children seen in underground shelter. The nearly 100-day war in Ukraine has provided humanitarian aid to 3 million children inside Ukraine and more than 2.2 million children in refugee-hosting countries, with about 2 out of every 3 children displaced by fighting.
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According to UNICEF, the war has provided 3 million children inside Ukraine and more than 2.2 million children in refugee-hosting countries in need of humanitarian aid, with an estimated 2 in 3 children displaced by fighting.
According to reports verified by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, an average of more than 2 children are killed and more than 4 are injured in Ukraine every day, mostly due to attacks using explosive weapons in populated areas.
Critical civilian infrastructure for children, including 256 health facilities and hundreds of schools, has also been damaged or destroyed in the war.
— Chelsea Ongo
Biden says US will provide Ukraine with long-range rocket systems
A multiple launch rocket system crashes during an artillery live fire event on March 4, 2020. US President Joe Biden said in an opinion piece for the New York Times that he would “provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that would make them more capable. Precisely hit key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
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US President Joe Biden said in an opinion piece for the New York Times that he “Provide Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions This will enable them to more accurately strike critical targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
The rocket system refers to the long-range multiple launch rocket system, NBC News reported, citing the White House Security Council.
US officials are reluctant to send the MLRS to Ukraine over concerns that Russia may see it as a provocative action because of the system’s limitations, NBC News reports.
CNN reported that the MLRS can fire multiple rockets from a wide range – far more than any system already in place in Ukraine.
Russia said earlier this week that it would strike “decision-making centers” including “not in Kyiv” if the US sends long-range rocket systems to Ukraine.
But a senior US administration official said Ukraine has agreed not to use the MLRS to launch rockets in Russia, NBC News reported.
— Chelsea Ongo